Notebook: Heat 119, Mavericks 109, OT

Posted Jan 3, 2013&nbsp11:07 PM

By Zachary Paul, For NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks 119-109 in overtime Wednesday at AmericanAirlines Arena. LeBron James led the way with 32 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. The Heat (22-8) rallied from a six-point deficit with less than three minutes left to capture the victory. A 3-point shot by Shane Battier put Miami ahead 103-101 before Mavs (13-20) forward Dirk Nowitzki hit a short jump shot to force overtime.

The Mavs were led by guard O.J. Mayo, who finished with 30 points on 12-for-21 shooting.

QUOTABLE: "What I liked about it is we were missing so many wide open 3-pointers the first half and then through three quarters, but we still found the trust to hit Shane [Battier] for a couple big ones and Ray [Allen] for a big one as well."

-- Heat coach Erik Spolestra

THE STAT: James, Bosh and Wade combined for 76 points. Things tend to favor the Heat when the trio scores at least 75.

TURNING POINT: The Heat opened overtime by scoring the first seven points, never trailing in the extra period. It was the second straight game Miami started strong in overtime.

QUOTABLE II: "It shouldn't have gotten to overtime. We were up six with a couple of minutes to go and our inability to keep them out of the paint was our downfall. In that position we [have] to be able to keep [LeBron James and Dwyane Wade] from getting to the rim, and they did two or three times."

--Mavs coach Rick Carlisle

HOT: James was once again in attack mode. For the second straight game, he was the Heat's spark in a comeback. He was the catalyst when Miami closed the gap in the second quarter and then was the difference in overtime.

NOT: Vince Carter and Shawn Marion had off nights, with both struggling from the field. Carter finished 1-for-8 from the 3-point arc while Marion provided little on the offensive end.

GOOD MOVE: This will go down as a game where the Heat received contributions from their core of Bosh, Wade and James; but Allen, Battier and Mario Chalmers all came up with big shots at key times.

BAD MOVE: The Mavericks were leaving the Heat shooters too open in the latter stages. They really had no choice, though. It was either that or defend James with one player.

NOTABLE: The Heat improved to 3-0 in overtime games. The Mavs fell to 0-6. ... Nowitzki played 30 minutes, the most since returning from preseason knee surgery. ... The Mavs are 1-10 when they allow at least 110 points. ... James scored at least 20 points for the 35th straight time. ... Battier leads Miami with 53 3-pointers.